Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGP-FireEP) and Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) plant community monitoring data collected at network parks. The data were collected during summer field seasons by NGP-FireEP based out of Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota from 1996 to present and by NGPN based out of Rapid City, South Dakota from 2011 to present.

Data collected from vegetation transects are either 30 or 50 meter point intercept data to obtain relative and percent cover. Shrub density data (2001-2006) was measured using brush belts along the same transect. Nested frequency data (2001-2016) are collected in three frames (0.01, 0.1, and 1m2 nested quadrats) along the transect to determine species diversity. From 2011 to present , nested frequency data are collected in four frames (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10m2 nested quadrats) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network at five locations along each transect. Photographs are taken from each end of the transect to document change.